About TransLegal's Online Courses

TransLegal has brought the experience gained in almost two decades of teaching live courses and seminars for thousands of lawyers from Sweden to Spain to its online Legal English courses.

The online courses provide lawyers who have little or no time for classroom lessons the opportunity to improve their Legal English vocabulary at times that suit them.

For those lawyers who wish to supplement the online courses with writing and speaking exercises, TransLegal can offer what is commonly referred to as 'blended learning': a mixture of online courses and live seminars, email correspondence, and telephone consultations. For more information about blended learning opportunities, please write to info@translegal.com.

TransLegal's online courses teach course participants the Legal English terminology they need to practise law in an international environment. It is important to note that these online courses are terminology courses focused on Legal English vocabulary as opposed to skills courses which aim at a wider range of language skills including grammar. The latter courses are taught "live" at language schools throughout the world using TransLegal's book, International Legal English, published by

Cambridge University Press, and are suited to prepare lawyers and law students for the Cambridge ILEC exam.
A certificate of achievement is awarded upon completion of each course and a passing grade of 80% on the final examination.


How the Courses Work

The online courses present key Legal English terminology in short reading and listening passages of the type lawyers often encounter. The key vocabulary in each passage is linked to a glossary with a definition of each term and a recording of the word used in a sentence. The learner is therefore able to hear the correct pronunciation of the term and see how it is commonly used in another context. After reading a text or listening to a recording, the learner then moves on to several exercises. The exercises which follow each reading or listening passage are designed to help the learner learn the vocabulary, either by learning the vocabulary from the context or glossary, or by reinforcing the vocabulary. The latter often results in the learner acquiring vocabulary in his 'active vocabulary' as opposed to his 'passive vocabulary' (uses the term when speaking or writing instead of only understanding it when reading or hearing it). Thus, the exercises are not meant to be a 'quiz' or 'test' but rather to teach.


Authenticity of Texts

Many of the texts used in the course are authentic legal documents (case extracts, contract clauses, legislation, etc.). However, at times, in order to be able to present a selected group of legal terms in a short passage, the lawyers at TransLegal who wrote the materials were required to produce their own texts.


Teaching Legal English, not Law

The online courses are not intended to teach the law of any particular English-speaking jurisdiction nor any common law system, or the law of any other jurisdiction. The courses are intended to teach the English vocabulary used in the practice of law and, since vocabulary arises in the context of a legal system, the course must present, explain, and teach that vocabulary with references to the legal system or systems in which it arose.

Throughout the courses, to the extent possible, TransLegal explains and teaches Legal English through references to general principles of law applicable in many jurisdictions, including the US, England, Canada, and Australia.


Legal Concepts

On occasion, Legal English terms vary from English-speaking jurisdiction to English-speaking jurisdiction. Several different English terms for a single concept are sometimes even used within a single English-speaking jurisdiction. An example of this is the fundamental documents for a company. The terms used for these in the English-speaking world include Charter, Memorandum of Association, Articles of Association, Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Incorporation, and Bylaws, to name a few. In such cases, TransLegal has attempted to briefly point out these differences and to use a single term throughout the course.

In addition to the problem outlined above, legal concepts in English-speaking jurisdictions do not always correspond to legal concepts in other jurisdictions. For instance, using the example above, most English-speaking jurisdictions have two fundamental corporate documents setting out the legal foundation of the company (e.g. charter and bylaws). However, in many other countries, there is only one such document. TransLegal believes that an understanding of what the English vocabulary means will make it easier for the non-native English-speaking lawyer to properly describe his or her legal system in English.

The main goal is to give the learner a basis for comparing Legal English terminology with his or her legal system and for finding terminology which aids in explaining his or her legal system in English.

TransLegal has decided not to teach the terminology of any particular but rather to use the Legal English vocabulary which is most accessible to the learner and which best reflects international usage while, at the same time, pointing out major differences between the different versions of Legal English.


Dialects

In the recordings throughout the course, TransLegal has used actors from Britain, the US, Canada and Australia in order to present a broad range of dialects to the learner. TransLegal has purposely not matched the dialect with the Legal English terminology taught. For example, the learner may hear two British-English speakers using US Legal English terminology. This is necessary since, in a particular case, TransLegal may have decided to use one term consistently throughout the course in order to avoid confusion (e.g. 'bylaws'). It is important to note that this terminology issue should not be exaggerated. The vast majority of terms taught are the same in English-speaking jurisdictions and correspond well to concepts in non-English-speaking jurisdictions.


Definitions

The definitions in the glossaries for each unit are brief and not intended to be exhaustive definitions but rather to provide the learner with a basic understanding of each concept so that he or she can continue with the reading or listening exercise and learn from the context as well as the exercises that follow.